Both parts were written by Donald Bellisario, the show's creator and executive producer at the time, and directed by Dennis Smith.

It involves lead character Gibbs (Mark Harmon) being severely injured in a ship bombing, his subsequent memory loss, and the team's struggle to find the perpetrator before another attack.

[4] The main cast during the filming of the third season included Mark Harmon as team leader Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Michael Weatherly as Senior Agent Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo, Cote de Pablo as Mossad Liaison Officer Ziva David, Pauley Perrette as Forensic Specialist Abby Sciuto, Sean Murray as Special Agent Timothy McGee, David McCallum as NCIS Medical Examiner Donald "Ducky" Mallard, and Lauren Holly as NCIS Director Jenny Shepard.

[6] This is first implied early in the third season, and series creator Donald P. Bellisario continued to develop the idea until it came to a head in "Hiatus".

[6] Tony, McGee, and Ziva wait in a car as Gibbs contacts an undercover government agent on a Turkish ship.

In his comatose state, Gibbs has flashbacks of the murder of his wife Shannon (Darby Stanchfield) and eight-year-old daughter, Kelly (Mary Matilyn Mouser), and being wounded during Operation Desert Storm.

[7] Meanwhile, other characters are disturbed by Ziva's seeming nonchalance regarding Gibbs' serious injuries, leading Ducky to accidentally insult her by implying that she does not care.

[8] Several characters attempt unsuccessfully to help an amnesiac Gibbs regain his memory since only he knows the details of an impending terrorist attack.

Franks fills him on what has been happening in the world since 1991, and the shock of learning of the September 11 terrorist attacks causes him to become physically sick.

[8] Ziva visits Gibbs on his last night in the hospital in desperation to help him remember, grabbing his hand and using it to show him his trademark "head slap".

[8] In a live video conference, Washington bureaucrats ignore Gibbs' recommendations about using a covert insertion to board the vessel Pinpin Pula is on instead of attempting to openly search it because of a fear of negative publicity.

[8] In March 2006, series creator Donald Bellisario previewed, "At the end of this season, somebody from the main cast is leaving NCIS.

I had a regression in which I found myself at 21 walking into a hospital room where my grandmother, Maru, was lying on her deathbed--and it just hit me like a ton of bricks.

Melodie Burns, a Santa Clarita resident, later described the site during production of the finale: "Distracted and rushed, I pulled into my usual parking spot at work.

Running into the building to clock in, I realized there were an unusually greater number of people in the parking lot, and I was taken aback by the new sign, 'HOSPITAL,' that hung over the door.

"[11] Shortly after Part II aired, it was assured that, despite his character quitting NCIS, Harmon was not leaving the show.

"[12] By the third season, NCIS had become "a solid Top 20 hit",[13] and "Hiatus (Part I)" was watched live by 15.17 million viewers in the United States following its broadcast on May 9, 2006.

Ed Robertson of Media Life Magazine speculated that either Tony (Michael Weatherly) or Abby (Pauley Perrette) would depart with the conclusion of Part II, saying, "We assume CBS would never be stupid enough to kill off series star Mark Harmon, who plays hard-nosed Leroy Gibbs, who is already suffering memory loss after a recent explosion.

That season we had seen glimpses and hints to what we found out in those two episodes, but it was still shocking to discover that Gibbs had once had a wife and child tragically killed by a drug dealer.

'Hiatus' also marked the debut of NCIS favorite recurring character Mike Franks as Gibbs former boss and closest friend.